On Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said anybody who hid a needle in a strawberry was “a coward and a grub.”

“It’s not a joke. It’s not funny,” he told reporters. “You are putting the livelihoods of hardworking Australians at risk, and you are scaring children.”

He added: “And if you do that sort of thing in this country, we will come after you, and we will throw the book at you.”

The governments of Western Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland are all offering a reward of 100,000 Australian dollars, or $US72,000, for information.

The police said Wednesday that they had arrested one person in connection with the phenomenon.

“In the last two days we found a young person has admitted to a prank, including putting needles in strawberries, and he’ll be dealt with under the youth cautioning system,” Stuart Smith, a senior officer in the New South Wales police force, said, according to News.com.au.